Stat-a-palooza!

So as I wrote earlier in the week, Little Man is 3 and today was his well  child visit so I have stats to share. I think my husband is a bit disappointed by his height (he isn't as tall as we'd expected) but overall we're thrilled by how well he's grown.

HEIGHT: 38 inches (65th percentile)
WEIGHT: 35.8 pounds (84th percentile)

He is such a sweet kid.  He totally amazed his pediatrician for correctly identifying an otoscope (thanks to Doc McStuffins!) and the fact that he is talking up a storm at 3 makes me feel that the year in Early Intervention was the best thing ever!  He went from no sentences at age 2, to 9 words or more on average at age 3.

My sweet, sunshine boy is just a blessing.

I'm glad that the one child I have is so remarkable. I think I made the right choice to stop at one.

THREE!!!!!

Yes, once again I have sadly neglected this blog. Only two posts in 3 months... I promise I will update this week as a LOT has been happening in my life.  However, the main thing I am going to share today is...

LITTLE MAN TURNS THREE TODAY!!!!!!

I can hardly believe how much time flies!  I blogged HERE about his birth back in 2009. I can't believe my 9 lb baby is now a 37 lb boy. He is so big. He is talking up a storm! (And last year I was panicking about all sorts of things.) He is a super sweet boy who sleeps in a BIG BOY BED and has given up naps about 95% of the time. He loves his mommy and daddy and his dog, Casey.  I have such a sweet, special boy.  Everyone who meets him, loves him. He is just that engaging. 

He doesn't go for his well visit until Friday, so I don't have any stats yet, but I can share his likes.

• Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
• Little Einsteins
• Doc McStuffins
• Jake & the Neverland Pirates
• Octonauts 
• Toy Story (1-3)

So, basically, anything DISNEY!  He does watch far too much TV.  And he LOVES animals! We had his 3rd birthday party this past Saturday at the Turtleback Zoo in West Orange, NJ. It's a great zoo and he had a fantastic time!

Here is the collage the Picture People created during his 3 year photo shoot a few weeks ago. (I bought the rights to the CD, so I'm sharing "legally". He is such a ham!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Little Man!!!!!

Yeah... well... huh...

So I haven't written since May 22nd. Wow. It's been a LONG time, huh?  Yeah, well, I've been BUSY. Lots going on with me and tonight I'll keep it brief because Little Man has been in the midst of some sort of sleep regression/fear/phobia deal. He won't fall asleep unless myself or my husband sits in his room with him. He'll get up and SCREAM "Mama! Dada! Mama! Dada! MAMA!DADA!" until one of us comes back. This started about 2 weeks ago.

So for the updates since the end of May.

• My nephew H turned 9.
• My Dad had his hip replaced on June 18th and has been in a rehab facility since the 22nd
• My nephew M turned 7
• Our 4th anniversary was June 22 and we actually had a date night, thanks to my BFF, and saw the Pixar movie Brave.
• Little Man stopped napping (last week of June) even though he still NEEDS a nap
• Sleep has been royally fucked up for us all
• BOTH of my parents are coming home on July 13th.

So big changes are ahead for my family.  I am anxious about this, even though I am glad my mom will be home because I know she has been extremely lonely in the nursing home. But so much of this falls on me. I already am caring for an energetic preschooler, working part-time for my family business, job hunting, keeping up with the house and caring for an elderly dog... I barely have time for myself or my husband. So add my parents to the mix without any help... it's a rough thing.

I hope Little Man starts sleeping again. We'll be doing the switch to the Big Boy Bed in the next week or so, so I figure I'll have more sleepless nights ahead of me. But he surprised me with the pacifier, so you never know.   And then he turns THREE in August. Wow.

So that's the update.  I keep saying I'll keep up here and I never do. I guess I should keep my word.

I'll try. I promise.

The "Me Me Fairy" and other updates

I have been extremely lax in my blog again. It seems like this happens more often than I'd like. And I don't think the last six weeks were THAT exciting, really. Well expect for a 10 hour trip to the ER with my husband who was diagnosed with bacterial pneumonia.  Poor Dude was really sick for a while there. That was on May 1st. But I guess I'll update with the biggest news first and then backtrack and catch up.

THE "ME ME" (aka Pacifier) FAIRY CAME!

I don't know if I've really posted about Little Man's obsession with his Nuk pacifier. He was so attached to them that he named them after himself—me-mes—and he would sleep with one in his mouth and one in each hand. I slowly weaned the amount of pacifiers in his crib down to 2 and then to 1. The week before we decided to kibosh the pacifier, I told him that the Me Me Fairy was going to come and take his me-mes to a new baby (in China, because that's far away from NJ) and she would leave him a special present to comfort him. He was excited about the fairy coming but really didn't "get" the reason why. On Saturday night, May 19th, I hid all his pacifiers (haven't tossed them yet) and left a plush Dumbo in his crib.

He saw the Dumbo immediately when he went into his room (before bath time) and got all excited. After the bath, we told him that the Dumbo was from the Me Me Fairy and that he would have no more me-mes. He seemed to understand and actually lied down without much fuss. He tossed and turned a bit, but slept through the night! The next morning, I (or the fairy) gave him a Captain Hook toy as a second gift for making it through the night.

It's been 3 nights and so far, so good. I think I'm very lucky to have an easygoing child (overall, despite the ups and downs he's been more easygoing than not) and I am THRILLED the transition went so smoothly. Hopefully the switch to his Big Boy Bed (which is set up in his room) will go well later this Summer.

Strangely, I'm feeling a bit melancholy about this. I know it's for the best and I forced the change, but the pacifier being gone is yet another step out of babyhood. And with an only child, I tend to notice these things as they will never happen again for me.

OTHER UPDATES

April —

• I had my birthday on Passover and the hubby got me a new lens for my Nikon, which I have yet to use. But I also am untrained in DSLR and need to learn how to use my camera.
• Little Man's BIG BOY BED arrived from Pottery Barn Kids (Catalina Cottage Bed). We put it together but he refused flat out to sleep on it. He wouldn't even sit on the bed at first. So we have a tight fit in his room for a bit and will make the change later.
• Little Man had double ear infections again when we had no health insurance (for just one month). Figures. Dealing with bills due to that.

May —

• May 1st: I get a call from Dude and didn't realize it WAS Dude (weird phone number) that he was going to the hospital and felt weird. Rushed Little Man to Dude's sister's house (where he stayed overnight) and went to the ER. Thought it was a kidney stone but the pain was from pneumonia. Dude stayed home for 5 days to recuperate—he is doing well now, 3 weeks later.
• May 6th: My BFF and I had a lovely afternoon tea to celebrate her birthday.
• Mother's Day: was nice. A breakfast buffet at Maggiano's (which was not as good as I'd hoped, but OK) and then time with my mom. Then naps (for me and Little Man) and burgers.
• The Avengers! We actually saw a movie this past Saturday. It was awesome.

I guess that's it. At least I can't think of anything else right now.  I will try to update the blog more frequently. Part of the reason why I hadn't was because our wireless router wasn't working correctly. But I think Dude fixed it (at least for now) and hopefully I'll be more on top of things.

Fire Alarms and Road Trips

Ah, March went out like a lion for my family ... I guess I can't expect to have an uneventful life, can I?

Last Tuesday, March 27th, Little Man and I stuck to our usual routine. His OT came by at 10 am (he has sensory issues) and after his session we were both wiped. But for some reason, after he had lunch, I decided to sanitize his pacifiers by boiling them. You're supposed to let it boil for 5 minutes, so I left the pot unattended while I put Little Man down for his nap (around 12:15 pm). But instead of going right back downstairs, I sat down in my bedroom and started to watch TV. I was chilled so I put my space heater on. After a few minutes, I smelled something and shut of the heater, thinking it was a short. But then the fire alarm went off!!!!

Instantly I remembered that I had been boiling the pacifiers. I ran downstairs into the kitchen and there were FLAMES shooting out of the pot! I just panicked. I put a lid on top of the pot but it was too big and didn't fully put out the fire. There was smoke everywhere. Then the alarm company called and said to get out of the house (when I said I was having problems with the fire) and I ran back upstairs and grabbed Little Man, who was freaking out in his crib, and ran outside—no jacket for me, no shoes for Little Man. I tried to leave him in the car so I could go back to check on the dogs, but he freaked again. I got so upset thinking the dogs would be hurt. But the police and fire departments were there within minutes and my neighbor from across the street opened her home so we could warm up. I babysat for her kids as a teenager, so she's known me for ages. But it was nice, since I haven't really spoken to her since then. The fire was contained to that pot and it was put out quickly and the smoke dissipated after a few hours. But no nap for Little Man and I canceled his afternoon DI session.

I was so angry at myself for being so careless. But I've learned to forgive myself and I'll never leave a pot unattended again.

That week was also Dude's last week of working in NYC. I hope after he adjusts to the new job, he'll be much happier. Especially with the 25 minute commute vs. 2 hour (each way). He started yesterday, so I guess we'll see.

Anyway, we also took a road trip to NoVA to attend a wedding on 3/31. We went down on Thursday morning and met a friend for lunch outside of Baltimore, on the way down. We stayed at the Ritz-Carlton in Tyson's Corner, Virginia. It was amazingly kid friendly. While expensive, I highly recommend the hotel chain if you can afford it. (For us, it was a splurge.)

We met a friend of mine and her son on Friday morning and then took a trip to the National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in the afternoon. It was pretty neat to see the Space Shuttle and the Enola Gay. Parking is $15 but free after 4 pm, which is when we got there.  And the 1.5 hours until it closes at 5 is definitely enough time to see most of the exhibits.

On Saturday morning I had a massage and a manicure. Dude took Little Man to a local park.  He refused to nap after lunch so we actually took a drive so he would sleep—since the wedding was that night. He fell asleep the minute we got onto the highway and we actually drove into Washington D.C. We saw, from the car, the Washington Monument, the Jefferson Memorial and the remnants of the Cherry Blossoms (which had bloomed a week earlier than usual due to the early Spring). Then we headed back to Virginia and hit a grocery store so Little Man could eat before the wedding. It was a good call since he wasn't going to eat any of the items on the menu.  And he did amazingly well at the wedding. For a 2-year-old to be up late and overstimulated... I'm just amazed that he made it through the wedding cake (but not the other dessert) and that he even danced a bit.

The drive home was quick, which is a rarity for 1-95. I'm just glad that this road trip was much more successful than prior ones. We've learned that he cannot be in the car for much longer than 2 - 2.5 hours and that he has to be down for his nap BEFORE 1 pm or he won't sleep at all. No more trips for us for a while. We're saving and paying down debt. And hopefully I'll find a new job soon, too.

Ch-ch-changes!

I can't believe it's been two weeks since I've posted. I'm behind once again with keeping up with my blog. Not sure why, since I've had the opportunity. But I guess it's because I've been trying to keep up with Little Man and my mom and have been feeling quite stressed and unmotivated.

But I have big news.

Dude got a new job and starts on Monday, April 2nd. The best part is that it's in New Jersey and is less than 10 miles away from our house. He won't be commuting for 4 hours per day and he'll have more time with Little Man (and me) and hopefully will feel more relaxed with all the extra time. It's also a promotion and pay increase. So hopefully this is the start of something positive for our family.

*I* also need to find a new job. It's time and with the economy as it has been, I really have to get my tush in gear to help better our family. I should have been looking more seriously for months, but I haven't.  So I've decided April 1st (Sunday) is the day to get myself back on track. It's going to be hard and it's very scary, but I'll do what I can to better secure our future. If I don't, we'll be in trouble. If I do, we'll be OK. It's that simple.

I'm not cut out to be a SAHM/WAHM combo. I need to be one or the other. I wish I could stay at home but even with the cost of living as it is in our area, I can't. Plus we have debt. More than I care to admit. So a new job is in our best interests.

Wish me luck.

What's That Sound???

The new thing that Little Man says to me every day since his myringotomy (ear tube surgery) last Thursday. I realize it's been a week and I haven't updated my blog. As you know, my mom is in a care facility after lung surgery and a feeding tube insertion from complications of Parkinson's Disease.

Anyway... last Thursday, March 1st, was the big day. Little Man was scheduled to be at the surgical center at 6:15 am. Since it was a half hour's drive, we had to be up at 5 am to shower and out of the door by 5:45 am. We got there right on time and found out that he was the first procedure.

The first issue was getting him in his surgical gown and these giant yellow socks (for a 2-1/2 year old). He did NOT like either. And even Daddy getting into HIS gown (to go into the OR with him) didn't make things better. What did?

STICKERS!

"Dowa! Dowa! Emmo! Bappap! Boots! Spiderman!"

We were told it would be quick but didn't realize HOW quick. I think his ENT was letting us know it went well only about 10 minutes after my husband came back from the OR (he stayed with him as the anesthesiologist put him out). Apparently there was a LOT of fluid in his right ear (less in the left) but it went well.  And when Little Man was brought out to us, he was SCREAMING.  My Little Man was PISSED OFF.  Apparently a common reaction post-anesthesia. It took him a good 15-20 minutes to calm down. It was us asking him if he wanted to go home that did it. He said "Outta here!" And so we went.  After we got him dressed, of course.

The last week has had it's ups and downs. The downs were A) putting antibiotic ear drops in his ears 3 times a day for 3 days. But we got through it. And B) bathing him. His ENT said no water can get into his ears and suggested either cotton balls with vaseline to create a seal or ear plugs. We did the plugs and he FREAKED. He literally was terrified by them and was shaking and crying. After two baths, I can't imagine doing it again. I'm not sure what to do.

BUT... the UPS. "What's that sound, Mama?"

He definitely can hear better. He repeats what we say. His words are clearer. And he's become even more of a chatterbox. So I feel glad that we helped him when he had a hearing problem. Hopefully his speech will improve even more over the next few weeks—and months. I'll let you know how it goes.